Frank Zappa (1940-1993) was a musician, composer and a social commentator, but this is an incomplete way to describe this unconventional human being, who believed in pushing boundaries and questioning the status quo in music, society and politics. For instance, more than once Zappa thought of running for the American Presidency, but the idea… Continue Reading
The remarkable rise & fall of John DeLorean, an engineer & automobile entrepreneur, is the subject of Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott’s fascinating documentary Framing John DeLorean. The film makes for an absorbing watch and highlights how ambition & greed undid a plucky engineer-entrepreneur’s achievements and eventually ruined his family, members of his company… Continue Reading
Ask Dr. Ruth, The White Crow and Long Day’s Journey Into Night are three of the films that are currently playing in a theatre near you in the US. Two of the films are biopics and the third is a moody film noir from China. Director Ryan White’s biopic Ask Dr Ruth makes for an interesting watch.… Continue Reading
I recently watched The Ballad of Billy Scruggs and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Strangely, both the films left me disappointed in varying degrees. Joel and Ethan Coen are back with a new film The Ballad of Billy Scruggs – a Netflix original. I was really looking forward watching their new film where the Coen… Continue Reading
So, there I was at a screening of Kong: Skull Island at a IMAX theatre with my 3D glasses jammed over my regular glasses. Get ready for some fantastic action whispered my better half. I could sense the excitement in the theatre and it looked like folks were really looking forward to watching this picture.… Continue Reading
Lucas Hedges is a fine, fine actor. I sat down to speak to Hedges about his role in Manchester By The Sea, Kenneth Lonergan, his new film with Martin McDonagh, acting, music and Harry Potter. Hedges has known Lonergan since he was a kid and yet was very nervous when he audioned for the film. He auditioned… Continue Reading
Filmmaker Barry Jenkins Moonlight is an elegant and brilliantly evocative film about coming-of-age and love.This is one of the best films I have seen so far this year. There is an aura of quiet grace about Moonlight that makes you think long after the end credits have rolled. You go away wondering what is that little… Continue Reading
Filmmaker Matt Johnson’s Operation Avalanche is set against the space race between US and the USSR during the Cold War period. The film is about the fake landing of Apollo 11 on the moon. The film was part of Johnson’s Masters project at York University in Canada. Johnson directs, acts and co-wrote the film with Josh… Continue Reading
The annual Mill Valley Film Festival, which is one of the last film festivals in California before the Oscar season starts is back this year with a fantastic mix of films. Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the festival that started the same year the first Star Wars film was released. The 39th Mill Valley… Continue Reading
Filmmaker Jason Cohen’s Silicon Cowboys traces the rise and fall of Compaq, the personal computer (PC) company. Compaq was the company that challenged IBM and changed the PC landscape in the 1980s. Compaq was founded by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto in Houston, TX. The founders were partially inspired by Silicon Valley’s culture. At one point Compaq was the… Continue Reading
Tim Sika is hooked on films, and therefore it should come as no surprise that he is the host of Cellouloid Dreams, a radio show from San Jose and also contributes to 810 AM KGO radio station and is the President of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. As if he did not have enough… Continue Reading
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest film Taxi is part of this year’s line-up at Mill Valley Film Festival, Oct 8-18, 2015. This brilliant film is shot without any fancy cameras, crew, actors or sets. The film stars Panahi as the protagonist, who takes you on a tour of Teheran in his taxi. From the confines of his… Continue Reading
Filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s new documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution opened in the San Francisco Bay area on October 2, 21015. The film traces the complex history, influence and legacy of the The Black Panthers in America, and specifically in the African-American community. The Panthers were founded in 1966 in Oakland by Huey Newton… Continue Reading
Best of Enemies is a riveting documentary film that takes you back to the 1968 Presidential elections and the intense politcal debate between William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal on ABC. Buckley and Vidal represented and stood for two different visions of America during this time. The debate was not a loud one, but a… Continue Reading
The Kamla Show 